Device for clamping plumbers&#39; snakes



July l5, 1952 Filed March 25, 1948 lill/11W i J. s. HERMANSON 2,603,495

DEVICE FOR CLAMPING PLMBERS SNAKES 2 SHEETS-SHEET l FIG-l :inventorJAMES s.I HERMANso Fae-5 J. S. HERMANSON DEVICE FOR CLAMPING PLUMBERSSNAKES July l5, 1952 2 vSl-IEIETS--SHEET 2 Filed March 25, 1948 A. m F.

JAMES 4 s. HERMANSON Patented July 15, 1952 UNITED- sTATfE-s PATENT-fOFFICE 2 f 2,503,495 l DEVIQE v1?orwlgla.- ivufING BLUMBERS slxinKEfs *l-V Si. *Hel-manson;Seattle; Wash. n,

1 ApplicationMfarc-hzs,1948 SeriaiNo1e49e `V.` Myupresentdnventionrelates to the Ageneral art ofl plumbers'tools andequipment; and'vrne'reparticularly; to; device for clampingI a plumbers Snake, v v

j Ever sine-ej the introduction ofA modern plumbing,r there( has alwaysbeen'aeproblemo'f keeping that plrunbing'free of obstructions and themest corlvenieifitmeans that has been found Ytevdate is tot employ 'whatSj' generally referred to as: a plunb'ers snake. This 'snake is madeinsueh a manner: that' :itl provides a long run of #ilexibjle vmateriallthatl functions a'sk'aV hose might, 'lor 'fa' f lexiblewire mig-ht vingeingaround the various bendsoeeurringiin plumbing, anellstillv havevthe power-'fte 'revolve cutters; or to employ hooks-or 'other'dervi/cesthat'can be used-for clearingout obstructions; beyond thenormally occurring bends: "The, 'most satisfactory -s'nakes' of the'present' Cla-yV use jare'those-that 'are formed: as continuous coilsof= spring Wirel The-outl- 5 meterpf lehe snakes-varies somewhatand ler1 short runs, be as smalllas one-quarter tv ree#eigl-itl'xsy of aninch; however, Aonehal-f "ine-hf or'` slightly larger, usuallycc'msidered about' VAthe Inost- "satisfa'etlory for extended use.

rMany@handlesandI otherv operative devices have been provided in theYpast to raid-n-.Jthe handling of these plumbers snakles. In yseineinstandes,l they; are merelyV ,a` handle that; grips thebodyofthe-snake; aswithv aset-serewtor thumb-screw, ortheymay take' ontheormxof ag crank,-or vin af preferred. -forrn they may be Aeiner-the-form of a letterl S; Vor v-be yogee inushape. In-l uSe, ,-it- 1 isfvely desirable thatA lthe snakes yvlfr-ichvwhernselvesbecome soiledkfrom'ousescin sewers-and lthe likepshouldnotfbel sonused .as 'to dSgu-re-or ys'iIf-the AHooi-jez". `Walls;orffurliisl1-- ings;6f-` a '-home; forinstance. Many ingenious arrangements have been provided to 1 in fsemefway 'vvrapup'for proteotthe snake lso thatitearmot f4() ljez'zo'rnev` ameans for{soiling materialsl When-in use. Cljoth or canvas shielding'and covers .have *often* been k'employedfin' lthev past. Due -t'orthestiffL and unwieldly nat-ure of Ithe' snakefit'selfgit hasj a tendencyto Whipiorspread-unsanitary sewage* k,o'yer a" large area;4 Ga'reful`plumbers 'have tried to prevent.,thisrcondition' byA laying down'canvasfrcfovers "andi-theal'ike; vbut this! has "very inefl"etual,`partly because the' cover d froinLjLob-tozjob without cleaning and lalsoSarthe! Qvrie usedpnly Y0.11fthe-i151@ 11S nggjthe'Walls'iecpesed i I ofever, itpfmust' be r derstoodf that Yfor 1-'eel liiiiity'",a'iilumuerlsspek ,j ien'mus'tjbeiffftyftgo one hundred feet long 'andi especiallywhensta'rting into y'vork on fan-A obstruction,v @ther exact ConditionAoffwll-ieh vis'Yu-r-ilenown, .theloperator has tocontend-v w-ith1 aularge leoil ofthesnakei that isoutsideffe'f the plumbing ttings.vL'Further; it

Yis verydesiiable itl-lati thefsnake can.,belrevolved as? ii; 'isiforced into sr'nalll lpipes and. lthelike, ,as -it-l is lrr'iueheasierlso-"propel thelsame;` through and around the-fittings and the :like-ifarrotary 'motion eanbe given to it.t.'This greatly-Veempl-ieatfes y theuse lof the very. long,T snake; ,Y :Howe vev r--,i'n1my -p'resentfsnakehandling-and housing arrangement; I fbelievefI have.. overcome .manyl ofrthe dencienciesiof this .iequipment;l 'as shown byp'ast experience. C.:.4

My deviceconsists` essentiallyy er1- a housing vmember -largecenough so.thatfitifcan house a veoil Y of the plumbers snake; ofzithedesiredvlength, andshave Ifchiszlhousing mounted in a revolvable`nflannerso.ftl'iefe as the need'aforprevolving .the

'snake becomes necessar-y, ,the Wholeacoil ,Gambe easily revolved.` as:af` unit; .p In Vvorder to;1;pb tain full useof my arrangement, 1 Ifind? :itfi desirable Ato.provideaaelainp means .so that'the snake vcanbeelampedtto .thel'rousingv generally', `and ftha'tfa cranlnhandlebeiprovded forrevolving 4it.v Further, Iilha've provided means, wherebykmyy Whole .devceffisgsntably ,mountedj,-so lthat/it eanbe slid .to land;.fra` around the1axis of; the pipe'gso thatlthepsnake :can be,propelledeinwardly'. or out- 'warcllyv while still-fixedl by4 the clampmean .to v'the housing. s v *Y u 'fThefprincipal object of `mye,presentfurther object; off invention im .addition tota housing for( ,a,plumbelrelke means for, clamping..theY Snakein ari/'operative snake;through .a pipe or withdrawingthevesame whereV Aconsiderableiforce. isrequired in thegoper.- ationrwfl A further--bject-of l my vpresentinventionisato i rivets.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional View of Fig. 2 takenalong the line 3-3 ofthat figure.

Fig. 4 is an end view of myV snake housing and its associated parts witha portion of the housing broken away to illustrate the manner' in whichthe snake is stored within the housing. t

Fig. 5 is an elevation with certain parts shown in section as wouldoccur if a cutting plane werej passed along the line 5-5' of the Fig. 4.

Referring more particularly to the disclosure Ain the drawings, thenumeral I designates the central unit of my device which forms the snakehousing. The preferred form of making this unitV is to form it as twoysymmetrical halves as the saucer-like members I2 and I4. These are4preferably secured together at their maximum periphery by the use ofsmall machine screws or The two housing members I2 and I4 can be made invarious ways, as by casting them of lighter weight metals or plastic, orby spinning them orV by pressing them out of sheet metal stock. From thestandpoint of utility, the housing should be constructed as lightly .asApossible of two halves of adequate strength to resist distortion,considering the rough use thatequipment of this order must be designedto accept.

The cross-sectional form, as shown in Fig. 5 has been found to have manydesirable -characteristics,"namely that a relatively large radius Visemployed Vin striking the curves for the inside of the housing membersand, preferably, Vthe curvesas they join at point I6, complete a circle.When so arranged, there is a natural tendency for the snake S, beingresilient andspring-like, to seek out the maximum diameter when enteringthe housing througha centrally disposed opening as I8, when the snake isbrought more `and more into the housing. This spring action tends tomake-the snake conform to a radius which is much greater than the radiusof the housing members. The 'snake therefore tends to lie close to theshell and this makes for the most satisfactory stacking of thesnake-'within the housing'. Inother words, it takes on.. the generalprinciple of a coil of wire or ar coil of 'rope,fand as it is well knownthat a coil of rope pays out best from its center, so thesarne action isexperienced with a snake. When the gen- "eral proportions referred toare maintained, the

equipment can be used over long periods without danger of anyV kinkingor tangling of4 the coils of the snake within the housing.

Coaxially disposed with the axis of rotation of housing I0 are thestrengthening flanges 20 and 2I. These'I prefer to secure by anyconvenient means to Ymembers I4 and I2, respectively and thus provideadequate support to the thin walls of Amembers I2 and I4 so thattrunnions 2 3 and 24 may be xedly secured Vto the housingand revolvetherewith. Trunnion 23 may be made of solid shafting or preferably, inthe interest of lightness, `itshould-be tubing or pipe, as I' haveillustrated. Secured to trunnion23rin1some convenientmanner is a crank,rhaving the Ycrank handle 26. In Fig. 5, I have illustrated thisconstruction as being made out of pipe nipples and elbows. This is aconvenient way, as adequate strength is achieved with the minimum ofweight. As the tool must be constantly moved about by hand, weight is avery important facl tor.

Trunnion 24 on the opposite side of housing I0, must of necessity betubular in form so that the "snake S Ymay pass through it.` Securedxedly The details of the structure embodied in clamp 30 1 to trunnion 24is a snakeclamp unit 30.

l frame32 from turning on pipe 24, it should be xedly secured theretouasby welding or brazing. Tube 24 is cut away for substantially half itsopening are best illustrated in Fig. 2'.

Pivotably secured within the confines of the upwardly extending portions36 Vand 31 of frame 32 is the pawl lever 40. This lever should form asmooth oscillating t within the upright members SBand 37 and bepivotably secured as by the through rivet or bolt 42. In the head end oflever 40, I provide a guideway as 44 in which is slidably disposed thepawl block 46. This block should be of hardened material and should beknurled'or toothed at 48, so as -to provide a large area of contact forthe engagement of snake S.

`This is an important factorin the construction vis so localized in onespot that a serious distortion of the snake occurs whichultimately,fwh"en it is repeated over and over again, soon destroys the,snake itself. I therefore have'found that the pawl block 46 should haveconsiderable extent both'transversely and longitudinally so that engagement with snake S can be distributed over suflicient area withoutrequiring excessive pressure, but still hold the snake securely enoughfor all operational needs. The4 exact positioning of pawl block 46within guideway 44 is adjustably maintained by the set-screw 50. Y

Pivotably secured, as at 52, to the opposite end of pawl lever 4 0 isthe toggle lever and handle 54. In Figs. 1 and 5, I have illustratedthis handle in its closed position, land in Fig. 2, it is in its open orreleased position. A In the released position, the hand grip portion 56Vis substantially in the vertical position. The lower portion of handle54, as shown in Fig. 2, is slightly bifurcated at 58, so that it forms asaddle which rides over and vis slidable upon tube 24. When pressure isapplied to the hand-grasped portion Y56 of the handle, and it isrevolved to the right as shown in Fig. 2, the saddle portion 58 liesupon tube 24, and the pivot point 52 is raised upwardly, which causesthe pawl carrying end of lever 40 to move downwardly and securely gripsnake S. rPhe exact amount of this gripping will be dependent upon thepositioning of pawl 46,V by virtue of adjustment of the screw 50. Itshould always engage asnake sufficiently to hold it against thelongirelationship to the pivo-t point 52, should be such that the actualbearing point of saddle 58 upon tube 24 will move it to the left, asviewed in Fig. 2, beyond a vertical line through pivot 52; thus alocking toggle joint is provided and Ano keeper arrangement is thenrequired.

It has been found that a copper or bronze bearing surface disposeddirectly below pawl 46 adds very materially to the gripping action of myclamp. In Fig. 3 I have shown such a surface at 51 formed preferably asthe head of a rivet 59 which serves to secure frame member 32 to pipe24.

In order to get maximum usefulness from 'my type of equipment, making itexpedient to handle at all times, I provide bearings 60 and 6l in whichtrunnions 24 and 23, respectively, are revolvably mounted. Bearings 6I)and 6I are in turn supported by some suitable framework. Here again, itis desired that reasonable stability be taken as one element of thedesign as against the actual Weight which should be kept to a minimum. Ihave employed a double A frame construction, which is probably bestillustrated in Figs. 1, 4 and 5, in that I have substantially identicalend units 64 and 65, which support the frame and which, in turn, aretied together as by transverse cross-members 66and longitudinalcross-members 68. It is apparent that I have taken maximum advantage ofthe trussing permitted by the A frame design soas to have a light-weightunit, one that does not interfere with the operation of crank 26 or lockunit 30, and which in turn has suiicient spread at door level, to give alarge measure of stability to the equipment. I have found it desirableto mount my A frame on runners, as 10 and 1l. The utility of theserunners will be best understood in viewing Fig. 1. Here it will be notedthat the snake S- is secured by clamp 30, and as the operator turnscrank 26, he can at the same time turn, press inwardly, or pulloutwardly on the snake, thus making it function in all ways as though hehad direct hold on the snake, but with the great convenience andcleanliness which my equipment provides.

In operating my equipment, the plumbing xtures must be partiallydisassembled, as shown in Fig. 1, and then thel snake S with clamp 30unlocked, can be pulled out by hand and entered into the plumbingfixture and be propelled by short strokes with the hand until resistanceis encountered. At that time, the operator should engage clamp 30, andthen by grasping handle 26, he can revolve the snake, and at the sametime he can press forward on the entire device and thus feed the snakeinto the pipe with considerable applied force. This operation iscommonly done in successive stages of short strokes, and that is one ofthe reasons Why it has been found that pipe 24 should be a reasonablelength so that it is possible to have it close up against the pipeentrance when the stroke is completed and then, by releasing clamp 30,it can be pulled away from the pipe opening, as for instance at 15, asshown in Fig. 1, an amount which the operator from experience knows hecan shove the snake into the pipe without fear of the unsupportedportion kinking. The removal of the snake from the pipe is achieved in areverse maneuver, it being necessary for short runs to unclamp andre-clamp the gripping member 30; however, it has been found that manytimes where the snake is being removed, the whole A frame and itssupported assembly can be moved sometimes several feet, drawing thesnake with it, and thus speed up the operation of withdrawing the snake.

As a convenience in carrying my housing Il) and further to provide meansfor hangingl the Whole unit to an overhead member, I provide a bailmember 80. Bail has eyes at 8| and 83 adapted to fit loosely over pipes23 and 24. In carrying or supporting my device the bail swings to avertical position.

It is believed that it will be clearly apparent from the abovedescription and the disclosure in the drawings that the inventioncomprehends a novel construction of a device for operating and housing aplumbers snake.

Having thus disclosed the invention, I claim:

A clamp, for a flexible cable snake in a sewage pipe cleaning device,comprising: a housing having an opening therethrough to accommodate suchsnake; on one side of said opening a cuprous bearingmember; on the otherside of said opening a pivotally mounted clamp lever; said clamp leverhaving a guideway aligned with said bearing member; a clamp jawpositioned in said guideway and slidable to move toward and away fromsaid bearing member; screw means for adjustably positioningsaid clampjaw in said guideway; a toggle locking lever pivotally connected to theother end of said clamp lever to move said clamp jaw toward said bearingmember and to lock said clamp jaw in position; and said clamp jaw havinga large clamp face with a plurality of tooth ridges spaced apart onefrom another transversely of such snake, each ridge being substantiallystraight and being parallel to the axisof such snake.

JAMES S. HERMANSON.

REFERENCES vCITED The following referencesare of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Germany Aug. 7, 1925

